Appellate rivals work together

Cynthia Rice won the open appeals court seat.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Two appellate judges who faced off at the polls Tuesday both say they will have no trouble working together now that voters have determined that both will remain on the court.
By a 3 percent margin, voters across the five-county 11th District Court of Appeals rejected Judge Judith Christley's unusual midterm challenge against a fellow judge on the court, William O'Neill of South Russell.
O'Neill, a Democrat, won narrow victories in Lake, Portage, Geauga and Ashtabula counties. Christley, a Republican from Andover, won only Trumbull. Had her bid been successful, she would have taken O'Neill's seat and the governor would have appointed a judge to fill the two years remaining in her term.
"It was an unusual race, and thank God it had the right ending," O'Neill said after learning unofficial election night results.
Things in common
He said that he and Christley have a great deal in common: They are both in their late 50s, both attended Cleveland Marshall College of Law, and they vote the same way 85 percent of the time.
The only issue in the race was the political appointment of judges, something he says he opposes.
"I'm pleased," he said. "We were friends before this started and we will be friends when it is over."
Deep differences
Christley, however, says there are deep philosophical differences between the way she and O'Neill approach the work of the appellate court. She has accused O'Neill of making decisions based not on precedent and the law, but on personal feelings about what is just.
Her feeling that O'Neill was a "misguided judge" compelled to her enter the race, she said.
"I would have been disappointed if it had been a huge margin, but point of fact, it was very tight," Christley said.
Other court race
In the other 11th District Court of Appeals race, Brookfield resident Cynthia Rice won with 45 percent of the vote in a field of three candidates. Her showing was strongest in Trumbull County, where she beat Mark Hassett of Chagrin Falls, and Jeff Black of Willoughby, with more than 60 percent of the vote.
"I think we worked really, really hard," she said. "We have been working on this for a year now, and it paid off."